After coming to university and meeting people from many different places over the years, I learned how small-sighted of a curriculum my school district offered. Schools around me were very progressive offering a wide variety of elective courses exploring subjects like astronomy or specialized art classes, while the high school I went to only offered the basic arts. They focused heavily on the basic academics and the athletics department. A lot of small towns, especially in Texas, are very driven by sports. I don’t think there was really enough funding to focus on much more than the “necessities”, nor did they care for the extra programs. I feel like in smaller districts like where I went to school, this is often the case. Teaching students in such an essentialist way blocks the potential of progressivism or social reconstruction, which, in my opinion, are two very powerful philosophies. They pave the way for creativity and independence for the student to take learning into their own hands and make new discoveries. These philosophies in a multicultural educational setting allows students to get exposure to things they may have never learned otherwise. I think the use of a variety of educational philosophies as an educator makes a world of difference in the type of learners you nurture and the aspirations they choose to follow, and all should be taken into consideration and used with balance. I also think it’s important to go outside of what you know and find what makes your own teaching unique, what your educational philosophy is. It could change the world.
Great post! At my school funding went to football as well and emphasis was on the core subjects. You can tell the difference of an essentialist environment vs a more progressive one. It can seem like the students are being limited from endless possibilities if they don't have the freedom of choice. School is about the core education but also about individuals finding out their place in the world. They need to learn about who they are and how society as a whole works.
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah! This is a great post and it's very detailed about how you look at philosophies in the education system. I too, experienced a school system where there was a financial emphasis on sports. When it came to the games, the clothes, the gear, the tournament preparedness and all that went into it, there was always money for that. I just didn't seem to grasp that because I felt that in other areas such as student council or in clubs where we sought to help the future of the school, there was a lack of attention. I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteI love the last thing you pointed out which is that teachers should be open to branching out of their way of teaching and being open to new ideas. This will allow teachers to develop more unique and personal ways of teaching their students to help the future of education!
-Kenzie Jones
Hi Sarah! I really enjoyed reading your post. I think you covered and explained some of the philosophies in education very well. I relate to you on how you explained that you came from a school where a majority of the funding would go to sports and it seemed to be the main "priority" over other clubs. I don't think it's fair for students to be able to have be passionate about something else other than sports and have it be disregarded and seem like their interests are not as important as other things. I love how you brought up that the use of variety educational philosophies would make a difference in learners because it is so true. It can help the students become more open to learning about things they may have not ever known they would have an interest in and no one should limit them. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI too came from a small town and noticed in college the differences. My school had resources but the main thing I learned is that college has many more resources and encourages students to be themselves. Having more programs for students to be involved in might also make them more interested in schooling itself. I personally know once I got into classes I actually enjoyed i did not mind waking up early for class. I think it is important for all future teachers to find out what type of teacher they want to be and grow with it. At the end of the day every school could always be better but if the school is filled with teachers who are inspiring the students will be inspired. Maybe every school does not have a chess team but it could take one teacher to encourage students to look out into the community.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the arts in our state are critically underfunded and I believe this does nothing by lower opportunities for our students. Studies have shown that learning a art or craft sometimes even a discipline benefit students and result in higher test scores. While some districts are locked in their ways of only looking at the profit that is gained from having parents attend sporting events and buying tickets and concessions I think it would be worth while to invest that money elsewhere. Different clubs and classes will allow us to introduce our students to a variety of thinking and peoples to broaden their world view. On the note of teaching philosophies we need to give our students a chance to switch things up in the classroom and not just lecture so students can find which method works for them. As most students tend to make up their mind that the aren't good at something and establish a self fulfilling prophecy instead of trying to change up the way they are learning a particular subject.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! I relate to this so much, I also went to an extremely small school district where not a lot was offered. I don't think I realized it at the time but after being educated on what different teaching philosophies are I realized that I was deprived of so much. Many of my classes were teacher centered which didn't benefit me in any way. My school was driven by sports, almost all of the funding my school was given went to athletics. I am upset that I was not granted an opportunity to be presented different teaching philosophies or to try new things but I think this is my motivation to be the change in my school district. I will be sure my students have a huge amount of opportunities and I hope you do the same! Great post Sarah, I relate so much!
ReplyDelete-Catarina
Awesome post, I think your experience very much reflects most educational experiences. All my schools elementary through high school taught more through essentialism philosophies. My school was decently integrated as well. Now, as we learn about multiculturalism teaching philosophies, I realize how my peers were affected. I want to ensure this does not happen in my classroom. Everybody deserves to have a voice in their education. As teachers we need to start a conversation about different obstacles our students face daily. Making our students feel seen and heard will help them excel at schools. I believe if we did this we could make leaps and bounds in our educational system. However, I do think essentialism philosophies should be present, however, it should be constantly reformed. There must be a careful balance between each philosophy.
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